India: engineering student created brick out of construction waste

Arun K Tayal, a second year student of mechanical engineering at a city-based university, has been lauded for designing a brick by using construction waste, at a cost of just Rs 45.

The brick was presented at a national level conference in G D Goenka University campus, Manesar last week, Tayal said. Mehtab Alam, a professor from Jamia Millia Islamia, who had chaired the conference, said, “It is a good idea to recycle construction waste for constructive purposes.”

The idea had come to Tayal, a resident of Palwal, when he noticed a lot of construction material go waste in the city. “I devoted nearly a month to this project. First I collecting waste from a construction site and then my professors helped me in processing it,” he said.

“Wasted plaster of paris, wooden shredding, plaster, wall putty and clay floor polish collected, were grinded together and then pure plaster of paris, black cement, fevicol, latex and water were added as binding agents,” said Anindita Roy Chowdhury, one of his professors, who helped him on the project.

“Wasted glass pieces were placed inside a glass mould and the mix was poured into it. It was then left to dry for the brick to take shape,” she added.

The brick costed Rs 45, but it could have been cheaper, Tayal said. “Mass production of such bricks will bring down the cost significantly. The strength of the brick is 9.9 kilo-Newton. Our aim is 20 kilo-Newton,” he added.